Graduate Business Modellling Consultant

Interview process

After an initial telephone interview which covered basic questions to see if I was a fit for the firm, and vice versa; I had a final interview in the offices.
The format was:
1) a presentation from a member of senior management - this contained information about the firm as a whole, and the department I was applying for. There was ample opportunity for questions along throughout.

2) a prepared 20 minute presentation from myself. The options were:
- a subject that interests you: including a brief description of the subject, how you are involved in that subject and what involvement in the subject shows about you that you think is relevant to working at the firm.
- an experience in which you were part of a team set a challenging target: describing the role you played in the team, obstacles that were encountered, how they were overcome, how you would have done things differently in hindsight and what you feel you gained from the experience.
- an experience where you have had to sell an idea or concept to other people: describing the idea, who you had to persuade, the approach you took, how the other people reacted and what you feel you gained from the experience.

This was followed by questions from the panel about my presentation.

3) a case study. A small set of data was uploaded to my laptop and I had 1 hour by myself to analyse and interpret it in any way I saw fit. After the hour I had to present my findings back to the panel and answer questions about it. The panel did give some helpful hints as to things I may have missed out in my analyzes.

4) the final stage was a competency based interview with the panel. This involved going through my CV; questioning skills which I had gained from previous jobs and giving examples of such.
I was also asked what I thought the hardest and easiest bit would be in starting the role, if I was offered it.
I had been given a sample list of competency questions prior to my interview, and as such, the questions asked did not deviate majorly from this list.

Most difficult question

What I would find most difficult about starting the role and why? - this was difficult to answer as you had to identify a weak spot in yourself, let the panel know it, and turn it into a strong point at the same time. I combated this by acknowledging this weak point and describing how I would deal with it.

Interview tips

Focus on gaining knowledge of the company as a whole in preparation for your interview and not just of the department and role you are applying for.
I found it useful that during the presentation from senior management, I was able to ask questions on points they made, following what I had read myself before. This made their presentation more of a discussion, which was great.

Experiences at the assessment centre

as in the interview process above.

Interview steps

Interviews

Phone

1:1

Group / Panel

Senior Management

Video

Tests

Numerical

Personality

Verbal reasoning

Psychometric

Other

Assessment centre

Group excercise

Background check

Presentation

Competency based questions

Rating the interview

How would you rate the pre-attendance information?
4/5

How well was the interview organised?
5/5

What was your overall impression of the organisation?
5/5

What was your overall impression of the selection process?
5/5

Did the interview reflect the overall values / culture of the organisation?
5/5

Applied Intelligence - Graduate Data and Technical Analyst

Interview process

The interview consisted of me being asked questions by a recent graduate in the same position and the head of the sector I was intending to get into.

The initial telephone interview was more of a background check on me and what my CV showed about me. This lasted about 20 minutes. No competency based questions and no questions regarding my motives for applying, goals in the future or anything of that variety. This was all left for the later interview in London.

The interview in London included me having to prepare a presentation on something technical I had learned in my previous work experiences or, most applicably, in my degree. My decision was on the Black-Scholes Equation, having recently applied and used this equation vastly in my recent Finance modules.

The presentation was to be 15 minutes long and was to prove I could put over complex ideas to a non-technical audience.

The interview that preceded this presentation was again mostly about myself, into my personal experiences, my work experience, my degree and the two interviewers explained their roles and their histories with the company.

After the presentation and initial interview, competency questions were asked of me. My motive, goals in my career, drive in life and other such things were discussed. (Look at the questions written in the section below for an idea).

Following this, an exercise was put in front of me by the two interviewers to replicate a potential project basis if I were to get the position. The exercise was regarding how individuals are linked via social media and other mediums and how these connections can help in fraud investigations and further investigations into crime etc. This was supposed to test your ability to spot trends and patterns on the spot, with no prior discussion or preparation, and was to see the interviewee's intellectual and analytical skills.

After this exercise, feedback was given about the presentation, my general demeanour, the interview and the exercise. Lastly, I was given a short tour of the offices before being told I would hear back in a number of days.

Most difficult question

What do you know of BAE and its clients?

Explain a recent piece of news or a project that BAE have been a part of.

Describe a situation where you had to show your flexibility and adaptability to new surroundings, a new industry or a new subject matter. How did you react? How did you go about it? Why were you successful?

Describe a situation when you had to act with courage to solve a problem or a challenge. What did you do? Who were you working with? What was the conclusion?

Describe a situation where you have had to compromise.

Describe a situation where you have been the leader of a team.

Describe a situation when you have had to use your communication skills to help you get to a goal in a project/piece of work/activity.

Explain what you would do if you were in a team with a troubling individual and the team's goals were being affected. How would you go about the situation? Which skills would you have to use?

What is your greatest strength?

What is your greatest weakness?

If I were to ask a reference individual, what would they say you were like as individual?

Why have you been unsuccessful with previous interviews?

PRESENTATION QUESTION: Where would this equation have been utilised in a business? How would it be used? When has it been used? Any examples of it's use?

Interview tips

Be vastly prepared on your history.

Research into recent company news and events to discuss.

Don't think you can get away with a shoddy presentation style: be bold, be attentive to questions, be heavily prepared on it, prepare answers for questions the interviewers may ask.

Don't be scared about the exercise: it will need no prior knowledge and is about how you adapt to a new situation. Don't panic if no assumptions are easily visible - the interviewers are exceptionally helpful and understand your position.

Experiences at the assessment centre

N/A

Interview steps

Interviews

Phone

1:1

Group / Panel

Senior Management

Video

Tests

Numerical

Personality

Verbal reasoning

Psychometric

Other

Assessment centre

Group excercise

Background check

Presentation

Competency based questions

Rating the interview

How would you rate the pre-attendance information?
5/5

How well was the interview organised?
5/5

What was your overall impression of the organisation?
5/5

What was your overall impression of the selection process?
4/5

Did the interview reflect the overall values / culture of the organisation?
5/5

Would you recommend this company to a friend?
4/5

Did you want the role following your interview?
5/5



Applied Intelligence Graduate Business Technology Consultant

Interview process

There are two interviews, the first one is more of a discussion about your skills on the CV along with some competency questions and a case study and lasts for 45 minutes. The second round interview is however, includes an in-depth interview of your skills, a presentation on a technical problem.

My first round interview was at Detica's headquarters in Guildford. The team lead himself came to interview me (as the other person wasn't feeling well) and went through the skills that were relevant to his team. Within a week I found that I was coming along for second round interview which was going to be in the coming week.
In the second round interview, there were two people one was a senior consultant and the other one being an ex-graduate. This time they were delving deeper into technical questions to see if I was the best fit for the role. This was then followed by a 20 minutes presentation including 5 minutes for Q&A. I was also given a vague idea on what the team does and how I would fit in it if I were to get this role. Towards the end, they left it open for me to ask any questions that I had.

Most difficult question

Tell me about a time that you worked conveying technical information to a nontechnical audience. How did you manage it?

Interview tips

Make sure you know what you have on your CV and sell it as much as you can. There will be questions about the skills you put on your CV and in the second round interview, the interviewers do go into a lot of details. So don't put something on your CV that you are not entirely sure about. At Detica, people look for certain skills to see if you will fit their team.

You are given a training which depends on what team you join, so don't worry if you are not a master. They don't expect you to know everything as a graduate, but you should show that you are passionate enough and eager to learn.

Experiences at the assessment centre

N/A

Interview steps

Interviews

Phone

1:1

Group / Panel

Senior Management

Video

Tests

Numerical

Personality

Verbal reasoning

Psychometric

Other

Assessment centre

Group excercise

Background check

Presentation

Competency based questions

Rating the interview

How would you rate the pre-attendance information?
4/5

How well was the interview organised?
5/5

What was your overall impression of the organisation?
4/5

What was your overall impression of the selection process?
5/5

Did the interview reflect the overall values / culture of the organisation?
2/5

Would you recommend this company to a friend?
5/5

Did you want the role following your interview?
4/5



Cyber Security Consultant

Interview process

My first interview was a one on one at the offices in Guildford with someone who had started on the graduated scheme just over a year ago. He asked me about nearly everything on my CV and it was more of a chat than an interview. I think the aim was to see if I would fit into the culture. At the end he gave me a maths problem to do which wasn't hard if you have done a lot of maths.

I found out the result of that interview in 2 days and was invited back for the following round the next week. This was an interview with 2 people from cyber security, one of whom was on the graduate scheme and one was quite senior. I had to prepare a presentation on a complex problem so I chose a final year university project. They asked a few questions about it and then asked questions about why I wanted the role. They moved on to really to probe me about what I knew about Cyber Security. I felt a bit like they were purposely asking me questions that I wouldn't know the answer to in order to test my reaction.

Most difficult question

What are the security risks involved ion BYOD?
How would you explain to a customer that they needed to increase their level of cyber security?

Interview tips

I got the impression from the job description that they would train people up but they are definitely looking for people who are already passionate and knowledgable about cyber security.

Experiences at the assessment centre

N/a

Interview steps

Interviews

Phone

1:1

Group / Panel

Senior Management

Video

Tests

Numerical

Personality

Verbal reasoning

Psychometric

Other

Assessment centre

Group excercise

Background check

Presentation

Competency based questions

Rating the interview

How would you rate the pre-attendance information?
1/5

How well was the interview organised?
4/5

What was your overall impression of the organisation?
4/5

What was your overall impression of the selection process?
3/5

Did the interview reflect the overall values / culture of the organisation?
4/5

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